It cost HOW much to go to a wedding? How the average guest now spends $600 every time a friend says 'I do' (gift not included)

The average wedding guest is now spending a record $592 every time they attend a friend’s nuptials.

A new survey from American Express found that the collective cost of bachelor and bachelorette parties, transportation, hotels, clothing and personal grooming has soared by 75per cent in the past two years.

The figure does not even include the cost of a gift, and indicates how those who need to attend multiple weddings per year are increasingly left with a massive hole in their wallets at the end of the season.

Crazy expenses: The average wedding guest spends nearly $600 on each event, due to travel, hotel, grooming, and wardrobe costs

This number is also up 10per cent from
last year’s average of $539 per wedding, according to the 1,500
Americans that American Express polled for its annual wedding spending
survey.

The company says
that this increase puts pressure on brides and grooms to provide their
guests with extra amenities to make it all worthwhile.

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In
turn, the American Express survey found, marrying couples are now
spending an average of $220 per wedding guest – a cost that includes
food and entertainment.

This is up 8per cent from 2012’s average of $204, and up 13per cent from the $194 average spent in 2009.

And
for this, guests seem to feel obligated to purchase rather expensive
gifts. The average wedding gift this year costs $109 for friends and
$200 for close family members.

Dan
Rabkin, American Express’s senior vice president of consumer lending,
says: ‘[Guests] may feel obligated to give an appropriate gift for a
wedding, even if it means they have to carry a balance [on their credit
card] for a while.’

But
while wedding registries remain a tradition, American Express found that
more couples (55per cent) actually prefer to receive money.